It Had to Happen Sometime
by icedragonchilde
Summary: Roy wakes up one day and makes a rather upsetting discovery. . .namely about his physical appearance. . .and needs the Elric brother's help. Okay, he's a horse. It was inevitable, really.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello all! I'm totally new here and this is my first fic. It's totally random. I was driving along one day and suddenly inspiration struck. Sadly, when it struck it took the opportunity to also mug and rob me, so I'm rather desperate for ideas for this fic. If you have any thoughts about things that would be cool/fun/interesting/whatever please shoot me a message! Anyway, reviews would be dearly loved as this IS my first time and my ego is frail and anorectic and if I don't get reviews it'll probably just curl up and die. . . . . .erm, I'm half-asian and so don't burn easily, but even so I don't particularly like flames. . .

_Disclaimer: All I own is a mangy, defective cat. The rest was stolen when inspiration struck._

"I am going to kill them." Roy hissed.

He didn't know who, or how, but _someone_ was going to die for this. He wondered just how long burning someone to death could be drawn out. Probably pretty long, he figured.

Groaning, he scrambled to his feet—something that required far more effort than it should—and looked around. Where was he? The place looked vaguely familiar, with its calm, pastoral atmosphere. Green grass billowed gently behind the low, crumbling stone wall and trees dotted the landscape. In the distance he could see a few houses scattered randomly across the grassy hills. Trotting away from the base of the tree where he'd woken up, Roy jumped lightly over the stone wall and onto a narrow, dirt road. Where was this? He knew he'd been here before.

Clearing a hill, he suddenly came across a dead, burnt tree leaning over a large scorch mark in the middle of the grass. Something clicked. Resembool. This was the Fullmetal brat's hometown. He started sadly at the blackened ruins for a moment, memories of when he had first met the boy rushing back to him. Then he snorted angrily. Okay, so he knew where he was, but. . .WHAT THE HECK WAS HE DOING HERE?!

He had no memory of coming here, and even LESS memory of how he had gotten. . .into his current state. The last thing he remembered was slipping out of his office when his slave-driver of a lieutenant had her back turned for a moment and then. . .he was waking up in a grassy field, like _this._

Yes, he thought, someone was definitely going to die. Possibly several someones.

But right now he had to find help, as he was in no condition to make it back to Central by himself. If he remembered correctly, Fullmetal's mechanic—that cute, blond girl—lived close to here.

Roy ran unsteadily down the road and, sure enough, a quaint, solitary house soon appeared. He skidded to a halt and caught his breath, hardly believing his luck. There, in front of the house, were the two Elric brothers. Fullmetal was rolling on the ground with a dog (Who on earth gives a _dog_ an automail leg? Roy wondered.) while Alphonse just sat back and watched them.

_Okay_. Roy peeked out from the tree he was attempting to hide behind. _You need their help. Just. . .walk out there and. . .augh! No! There is no way I would humiliate myself like this in front of FULLMETAL of all people! _Whatever gods there were must hate him, he decided. But he really DID need their help. . .crap. Roy straightened with determination, swallowing his pride. . .and immediately choking on it.

"Ah, big brother!" Alphonse Elric looked up, "What's that sound?"

"Eh?"

"It's coming from that tree." Al jogged over in concern. "AH! Big brother!"

"What is it?" Ed scrambled up and ran to his brother's side.

"Look, there's a horse here that looks like it's having trouble breathing! Here, what should we do to help?"

"How would I know?! It's a horse!" Ed crossed his arms and looked sideways at the animal. Al patted the horse on the back uncertainly.

"Hey there, fella, take it easy. . ."

The horse made odd, strangled noises.

"There you go. . .just relax. . ." Al continued stroking the horse's sleek, black neck. "Hey, big brother, where do you think this guy came from?"

Ed shrugged disinterestedly, "Probably belongs to one of the neighbors."

"Oh, well we should ask around and try to find his owner then, if he ran away."

More strangled noises came from the horse.

"Hey, something's wrong with him. Do you think he's sick?"

"Al, it's a horse. The only thing I know about horses is that the person goes on top."

Al sighed, "Well, go get granny Pinako and some rope, at least."

"What? Why?? When did we start making a habit of taking in stray horses? It's wild for all we know!!"

"Brother!"

"Fine, fine. . ." Ed sighed and trudged back to the house.

Once Roy was able to breathe normally again, he seriously considered just bolting and taking his chances on his own. Well. . .actually, he seriously contemplated kicking Fullmetal in the head and THEN bolting. But Alphonse was still stroking his neck in a soothing way and saying vague, comforting things and. . . . .Roy's train of thought crashed. Stroking? His NECK?!! He let out a shriek and shied away from the giant, metal boy.

"Whoa, there boy!" Alphonse gripped Roy's mane tighter and laid his other hand on Roy's nose. Roy pranced in agitation, his mind still trying to cope with this sudden reality of. . .equine-ness. But eventually his rational side once again took over and squashed the (very large) part of his mind that was solely focused on running around in circles and screaming. Yes, he was a horse. That was reality. Don't think about it anymore.

He calmed and allowed Al to continue petting him, the boy's large hand running down his neck and across his back in a. . .not _un_pleasant manner. Part of his brain seized again at this last thought, but that part was firmly smooshed before he lost it completely. Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it. . .oh look.

The Fullmetal boy was reemerging from the house along with the tiniest woman he had ever seen. What was her name? Pinako. Right. He was more concerned, however, with the length of rope and halter that Edward was carrying.

"Here, Al, put this on him." Pinako said, as Ed handed the halter over.

"Okay, boy, here we go. Don't worry, we'll just slip this right over. . ." Al babbled as he lifted the halter to Roy's face.

"_What on earth are you doing?!"_ Roy screeched, stamping his foot and tossing his head back, away from Al. _"You are NOT putting that thing on me! Agh! Stop!!"_ He struggled wildly as Al grappled with his head.

"There we go!" Al said triumphantly as he slipped the halter on, "That's not so bad, is it?"

Roy threw his head about some more, then rubbed it on his leg as he pranced around, _"'Not so bad'?! I have a rope on my FACE!!"_ he whinnied. _Okay, Mustang, calm down. . .yes, you have a rope on your face. Deal with it._ He took a few, deep, calming breaths. If this was what it took to become human again, he would just have to put up with it. He sighed and followed Al obediently back to the house.

Yes. He was DEFINITELY going to kill someone.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks so much to those who reviewed!! It is because of you that I have incentive to keep writing. Here's chapter two, hope you enjoy! I STILL would dearly love any ideas you have, so PLEASE tell me if you think of anything! Thank you for reading!!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing, but the police think they have a lead on my inspiration and are tracking it down, so I hope to recover some of my stolen property soon. . .

"So you don't recognize him?" Al asked the man in the doorway. The man shook his head. "Ah, well thank you. Sorry to bother you!"

They had spent the entire day wandering around Resembool trying to find Roy's nonexistent owner. That was the last house. Roy followed the Elric brothers with his head hanging low and his hooves dragging. The humiliation was too much. Having complete strangers inspect you and touch you in all manner of completely inappropriate places. . .Roy heaved a great sigh. It didn't help that he was starving. They had fed and watered him the night before, but he could not bring himself to start eating dried grass just yet.

"Well, he's not from around here." Ed stated the obvious as he strolled along with his hands behind his head.

"What should we do with him then?" Alphonse asked in a worried voice as he patted Roy's nose.

"Why can't we just let it go?"

"Ed! We can't do that. He's obviously tame—who knows if he'll be able to survive if we just release him into the wild!"

Roy figured that actually the odds of him surviving were pretty darn high, but didn't say anything. . .not that he COULD even if he wanted to, he reminded himself with another sigh. He knew it was irrational, but it irked him that Edward would just abandon him without a second thought like that. He'd always known that the younger Elric was superior to the elder, and this just confirmed it. He bumped the armored boy affectionately with his muzzle while simultaneously shooting a death-glare at Edward. He hoped that his death-glares still worked in horse-form.

"See big brother? We can't just leave him!"

_Bless you, Alphonse Elric. . ._

"Why NOT?!! This is becoming a huge hassle! Just put it back where you found it!"

_Die, Fullmetal. . ._

"How can you be so mean, big brother!" Al huffed, "We are NOT just leaving him! That's inhuman!"

"Fine!" Edward sighed deeply, "Well, we obviously can't take him with us, so maybe we can get granny Pinako and Winry to take care of him. I'm sure they could use a horse for. . .something. . ."

Al wondered how a horse could possibly be helpful in making automail, but he was just glad that Ed had agreed not to abandon the horse.

Night was falling when they returned to the Rockbell's house and Roy was tied to a post outside next to a pile of hay—which he now grudgingly ate, and tried not to let himself think about how good it tasted.

The next morning, Alphonse came out to talk to him. "Good news, fella!" he said, stroking Roy's nose affectionately, "Granny Pinako has agreed to take care of you!"

_Oh, that's good, at least._

"That means we can come visit you whenever we want!"

_Wait. . .what?_

"Brother and I are going back to Central today now that his automail's all fixed up, so we won't be around here much anymore."

_No! Not good! You can't leave me here!!_

Roy whinnied and reared up, struggling against the rope.

"Whoa, hey there, calm down! It's okay! Granny and Winry will take really good care of you! You'll really like it here!"

_Forgive me, but I REALLY THINK NOT!_ He yelled wildly, jerking the rope. If the Elrics left without him now, who knows how long he'd be trapped in this backwater town.

"That horse seems really attached to you, Alphonse." Pinako said as she came out of the house, smoking her pipe.

"Come on, Al, let's get going." Ed hoisted his suitcase over his shoulder. "See ya later, Horse."

_AUGH! Miserable, pint-sized pipsqueak! Don't you dare leave me like this!!_ Roy screamed. He was bucking and rearing wildly. Even if all else failed, maybe he'd still be able to get in one good kick before Fullmetal got out of range.

"Whoa! It's crazy!" Ed yelled, jumping back.

Crap. Can't reach him.

"Oh, don't mind him. You boys just go on, he'll calm down eventually." Pinako assured.

_NO I WON'T!!!_

"Uh, yeah. Come on, Al. Bye Granny! See ya, Winry!" The boys waved as they walked away.

"I hope those two stay out of trouble." Pinako sighed as she went back inside.

Roy was seriously starting to panic now. Countless months of serving as the Rockbell's horse, nice as the two of them were, was not an appealing thought. He had to get back to Central! He'd been gone for three days already! Everybody was probably going crazy over his sudden disappearance. He hated to think about how Hawkeye was taking it, and he also felt a great swell of pity for anyone insane enough to get in her way.

He strained at the rope, pulling against it with all his (considerable) strength. The rope groaned, but did not break. He twisted his head around frantically, trying to snap it. No good.

He dropped his head, panting from exertion. He never thought he'd see the day: He, Roy Mustang, the FLAME Alchemist, trapped by a simple rope. No. He can't give up, not now, not yet.

He backed up until the rope was taught and took a deep breath. This was it. Either this worked or his neck snapped. He plunged forward in a full gallop, racing past the pole. In a moment he had run out of rope and his head was jerked around even as his body kept moving forward. He almost wept with relief when he heard a faint snapping noise and the pressure on his neck suddenly disappeared as he crashed to the ground. _Ow, ow, ow, ow_. . .He held his head tenderly at an angle as he scrambled to his feet and took off down the road. A part of his mind delighted in how spectacularly fast he could run now, the rest of it just panicked about whether he would catch the brothers in time.

He careened into the train station just as the Elrics were about to board. There were startled shouts all around him as people leapt to get out of the way of the crazed horse who was making a b-line for Alphonse's easily-recognizable form.

"What the—"

"Aahh!" Alphonse yelled as Roy bulldozed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a huge crash. Roy hadn't meant to actually run into him, but it was amazing how hard it was to stop when he was running full-speed. They now lay in a tangled heap—Al holding onto his head to keep it from rolling away. Roy tried to get to his feet, but Alphonse was tangled up underneath him and all he could do was flail his legs wildly until Al rolled away from him and helped him up.

"WHAT IS IT DOING HERE?!!!" Edward screeched, pointing wildly. Roy snorted at him, but didn't really have the energy to do much else.

"What _are_ you doing here, fella?" Alphonse asked, holding up the tattered end of the rope, "Hey, Ed, look at this! This guy broke the rope and came all this way just to follow us!"

Roy pressed as close to Alphonse as was physically possible, trying desperately to get across the message 'TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!!'.

"Aww, look at him, big brother!" Al said, running a hand through Roy's mane. "He obviously wants to come with us!"

_Yes!!_ Roy felt like weeping with relief.

"Can we keep him?" Al asked, somehow managing to make puppy eyes even though he was a suit of armor.

"NO!! We are NOT taking it with us!" Ed slapped his forehead, "Ugh. This means we're gonna have to take it back to granny Pinako's. We're gonna miss the train, dangit. Come on, you troublesome Horse." He grabbed the remains of the rope and started trudging back to the house.

_This is getting ridiculous,_ Roy thought. _How blunt do I have to be??_

. . .Obviously more blunt than crashing full-speed into Alphonse. . .he sighed. _Fine._

Roy reached out and grabbed the back of the young state alchemist's coat with his teeth, dragging the startled blond backwards.

"What the. . .AGH!" Edward shouted as Roy tossed him bodily through the air (good thing he was so small) towards the train's door. . .missing the actual opening by a few feet. Ed bounced off the train's side and landed heavily on his back. Roy tried not to take too much pleasure from the bump rapidly forming on the boy's head.

"Big brother!!" Al immediately rushed to Ed's side.

"Ahh! It's crazy! Get it away from me!"

But Roy had already lifted Ed by the back of his collar again and was shoving him towards the train compartment. Then he trotted around and nudged Alphonse with his nose, trying to guide him towards the livestock compartment. The lift-and-toss technique wouldn't work with the younger Elric. Roy cantered over and stood pleadingly beside the compartment.

"Big brother. . .I _really_ think he wants to come with us."

Ed gaped at the possessed horse for a few moments, then sagged in defeat. "Fine, fine. . .I guess we can't seem to get rid of it anyway. . ." He slid out and went to make arrangements for transporting Roy.

"Thank you big brother!!" Al yelled enthusiastically. Even Roy whinnied in relief.

"Meh." Ed grumbled. . .


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Hello again! Thank you thank you THANK YOU to all who reviewed! It is because of you that this story is still alive! If I don't get reviews I have absolutely no incentive to keep writing. __ (yes, I'm that pathetic. . .sigh. . .reviews are my only reason to exist.) So even if you don't like it, please TELL me that you don't like it! Tell me that it was boring beyond all comprehension! That it was so OOC that it wouldn't know in-character if it tripped over it! Anything! Just let me know that you're reading!!_

_And again, I STILL really, really need ideas. . ._

_Oh, and since I'm so new to I'm still experimenting with sectional-divider thingies. This chapter I'm trying "oOoOoO". . .I wonder if that'll work. . ._

_Disclaimer: They still haven't caught my inspiration, but assure me that they are close and it'll be any day now and I shouldn't worry and just let them handle it and. . . . .so I went out and re-bought some of my stuff so now I own a mangy, defective cat AND a ten-pound bar of chocolate. Still don't own FMA. . ._

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Riding in a train was not a pleasant experience for Roy, but fortunately it did not last terribly long. Soon the train was pulling into Central with a deafening screech and Alphonse had come to fetch him.

"Where should we keep him, brother? He can't stay at our apartment."

Ed shrugged, "The military has a stable; we can leave him there."

Yes! The military. They were going in the right direction at least.

Even though Central was one of the more technologically advanced cities in Amestris and most people drove cars, it still wasn't uncommon to see a horse walking down the street—a fact which Roy was eternally grateful for.

"So, after we dump Horse, here, we need to go find something for Winry's birthday present. I'd almost forgotten about it."

Al nodded, "But brother, we can't just keep calling this fella 'horse' all the time! We should name him."

_THANK you._

"Eh? Fine. What do you wanna call it? How 'bout Fluffy?"

_I WILL kill you, Fullmetal, make no mistake about that._

"We can't name a horse Fluffy!"

"Okay." Ed put a finger to his chin in mock-concentration. "I know!" he snapped his fingers, "We should name it Roy!!"

"What?"

_What?_

"Yeah! We should name it Roy 'cause he's an a—"

"BROTHER!!!!"

**KICK**!

Al could only call frantically after the rapidly-disappearing speck that was his elder brother. Roy, on the other hand, felt an amazing release and satisfaction in a kick well-placed. Lord, that felt good.

A while later, once they had recovered Ed's bleeding remains, they made their way back to military H.Q., Roy stubbornly glued to Alphonse the whole way.

"We are NOT naming him Roy!!" Al stated firmly ("Besides," he added, "an ass is a donkey, not a horse.") "I know! How about 'Shadow'?"

Ed tilted his head, "It's a bit cliché, isn't it?"

"Well, but he's black and he follows me around everywhere, just like my shadow!"

Ed sighed, "Fine. Whatever. Its name is Shadow."

Roy sighed too. Ah well. There were far worse names, he supposed.

Just as they reached H.Q., they ran into a familiar group of blue-uniforms.

_Lieutenant!_ Roy whinnied happily.

"Oh! Edward! Alphonse!" Riza Hawkeye turned towards them, a relieved look on her face. "You're safe."

"Huh? Why wouldn't we be? What's wrong?" Ed frowned.

Riza looked away, pain in her eyes, and Havoc answered for her. "Well, Scar's been sighted in Central again and. . .Colonel Mustang has been missing for three days."

"What??" Ed and Al shouted in unison.

"You think Scar. . .?" Al asked, concern filling his voice. Ed didn't say anything, but his eyes hardened.

Havoc shook his head, "We don't know, but that seems the most likely scenario."

Falman saluted, "The only facts we have are that the Colonel left his office at approximately 6:30 Monday evening and has not been seen since."

"The entire force is out searching for him."

_You know, the irony of this situation is really quite astounding._ Roy said dryly. But still, he thought, Scar's back in town? That can't be good.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but you will have to stay at headquarters for a while for your own safety. With Scar around, you're sure to be a target." Riza said apologetically, but her tone brooked no disagreement. "Lt. Havoc, would you please escort the Elric brothers back to H.Q.?"

Havoc saluted, "C'mon, you guys."

Ed nodded absently, mind still whirling with the thought that the colonel might have been. . .but that was impossible! There was no way that stubborn jerk would have lost to Scar! Either way. . .his fist clenched, he was going to hunt down Scar and find out the truth about Roy Mustang. . .and possibly avenge him.

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Roy trotted behind the boys, rather surprised at how Fullmetal was taking the news of his disappearance. The boy looked like he was about to kill someone. That was the reaction he expected from Hawkeye, not Edward.

"Here, let's drop Shadow off at the stables, then we can figure out what to do, okay big brother?"

"Yeah."

_No! Ack, don't leave me here you fools! If you go off looking for me without my help, you'll never find me!_. . . .what. . .?

His whinnies fell on deaf ears and he was locked into a stall. The boys walked away, obviously deep in their own thoughts.

_Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events_, Roy concluded as he looked around his new environment. _Not only am I trapped in a small, box-like room, but they are all chasing after Scar. . .who I am relatively certain was NOT the one who turned me into a horse. _Well, one thing at a time. First thing was to get out of this foul-smelling place. It was built to hold in normal horses, surely it would prove no challenge to Colonel Roy Mustang.

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Three hours later, Roy had decided that _this_ stable had been built to hold particularly BRILLIANT horses. He thumped his head against the wall in frustration. Once he got his human body back, he was going to burn this entire place to the ground.

Eventually he abandoned his efforts to cleverly gimmick the lock open, and opted for a somewhat less subtle method. Turning around, he kicked the stall door as hard as he possibly could. He heard an encouraging cracking noise, and continued kicking with all his strength. On the seventh kick there was the most beautiful splintering noise Roy had ever heard. Whirling around, he charged out of the stable and into the street. Fortunately, there was no one around to see him and start screaming "run away horse!!".

_Great_. He looked around. Where had everyone gone? Night was falling, and if Edward and Alphonse were where they were SUPPOSED to be, then they were in their small apartment, being watched over by a few sergeants. However, since this was Ed and Al they were talking about. . .

Roy trotted around the building until he was standing under the Elrics' window and grinned. As expected, there was the rope of bed-sheets leading down from their room. His sensitive ears picked up a muted rustling in the nearby bushes, and he crept as quietly as possible towards the noise.

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"I can't believe they think we're going to hang around and be babysat while Scar's still out there." Ed whispered.

"_I_ can't believe they never thought to post a guard outside our window." Al whispered back. "I mean, this isn't exactly the first time we've snuck out."

Ed grinned at him in the darkness, "Yeah, well, they just—AIIII!!!" He leapt about a foot in the air, squealing, as something ticked his ear. When he whirled around, he found himself nose-to-nose with a very large, very horse-y face. "GAAAAAH!!" He screamed again, scrambling backwards.

"Big brother!" Al whispered urgently, clamping a hand over the other boy's mouth.

"What's IT doing here?!!" Ed gasped, pointing wildly at Roy.

"I don't know; he must have escaped from the stables, but we don't have time to worry about that right now! Come on, someone was sure to have heard you scream, we have to get out of here."

Ed immediately stopped spluttering at the new arrival and nodded curtly. "Yeah, we'll put the horse back later, let's go!" The two immediately slunk off into the night, with Roy doing his best to follow them. It was difficult for a horse to slink, but, all things considered, he did about as well as Alphonse.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Again:THANK YOU to all who reviewed!! You all truly make my day! My goal is to get 76 reviews! (don't ask about the random number. . .let's just say I had a weird dream. . .) I try to reply to all my reviewers, but if I forgot I'm sorry! (oh yeah! If you're still reading this, thank you for your review O-Annonymous-Reviewer-Danelle. Even though it was really short, it was still appreciated!) A special thanks to Bar-Ohki, AdventureAddict, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1 (long name), and Havoc's Honey for reviewing every chapter! (I'm so sorry if I forgot anyone! bites nails)_

_This chapter is dedicated to AdventureAddict for her extremely kind and encouraging review! --is all warm and glowy-- I'm sorry this chapter isn't as funny as the others. . .--feels like she's defeated the entire point of dedicating it-- but there had to be action SOME time. . .I still tried to insert some humor in there. . ._

_I apologize. . .I'm TERRIBLE at writing action. --_

_Oh, by the way, you know I'm new here soooo. . .what's a beta, what's it do, and how might I obtain one?_

_. . . . . . . .And I STILL need ideas here, folks!!!_

_Disclaimer: They finally caught my inspiration, but it had already sold all the stuff it stole from me, so I still own nothing but my stupid cat. . .sigh. . ._

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Why on earth were they doing this anyway? Roy wondered as he crept after the brothers. He could understand somewhat that they wanted revenge, but to actively pursue a dangerous murderer who was hunting them. . . .

The Elrics were insane, he decided.

But then. . .if he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that if this had been Hughes' murderer, Roy would be out here hunting him too.

But still, he huffed, that was completely different. He was a trained military officer who had fought in the Ishbalan War. They were just children.

All that aside—he slapped himself for letting his mind wander—how did they expect to FIND Scar anyway? The military had been searching for months to no avail. Oh well. These were the Elrics—he was sure they had something up their sleeve.

"Hey, Brother," Alphonse whispered, "How are we gonna find Scar anyway?"

The smaller boy stopped dead in his tracks.

". . . .Brother?"

"Uhhhhhhhhh. . . ."

Roy felt like shooting himself. . .or possibly shooting Edward Elric. They really had no plan other than sneaking out and hoping they ran into him??

"Well," Edward started, "Scar's looking for _us_, right? All we have to do is make ourselves easy to find and he will come to us."

Roy sighed. Why had he bothered to find these two anyway? Now he was doomed to a night of wandering aimlessly around the city.

"Well he should have heard we're back in town—the military made such a big fuss about it—so we'll hang around the areas we've fought him before."

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They had been meandering around the city for several hours and were coming up on the library when Roy's heart stopped. He couldn't believe it.

There, slowly emerging from the shadows, was the familiar shape of Scar. Good lord, the Elrics' inane plan had actually worked.

The two parties caught sight of each other at the same moment.

"You. . ." Ed snarled, barely coherent in his rage.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist. I heard you were back in Central. How fortunate to find you so soon."

Ed clapped and a blade sprang from his automail arm, "Bastard, what did you do to Colonel Mustang?!" He leapt at the older man, slashing.

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Roy pranced in frustration as he watched the three crazed people destroy the surrounding landscape in their attempt to destroy each other. He wanted to help, but what could a horse do?? Kicking was about his only option, and he sincerely doubted he would actually be able to hit anyone.

He grimaced. The fight was not going well. Edward was wild with anger and was fighting carelessly, forcing Alphonse to focus on protecting him instead of on attacking Scar.

Suddenly a deafening explosion nearly knocked him off his feet. With a great effort, he overcame his instinctive desire to bolt as an entire building collapsed.

"BROTHER!!"

Dreading what he might see, Roy turned. Alphonse was digging frantically at a pile of stone and Roy caught a glimpse of a white-gloved hand protruding from the rubble.

_Oh no. . ._Roy breathed. Alphonse was totally focused on rescuing his brother and had forgotten about Scar. Well. . .he sucked in a breath, time to see just how well this kicking thing worked. He sighed inwardly as he ran forward. At least he'd have the advantage of surprise, he mused bitterly.

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"Big brother!!" Al cried, anguished, as he pulled the smaller boy from the rubble.

"You would do well to worry about yourself."

Al whirled around just in time to see a glowing red arm right in front of him. He didn't have time to dodge. Tightening his grip on Ed, he prepared to take the hit when suddenly Shadow appeared out of nowhere and kicked Scar squarely in the back. Al could only blink in surprise as Scar flew away and Shadow charged straight for him and Ed. Before he knew what was happening, Shadow, his head lowered, ran into him, knocking Al over onto the horse's back.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Al yelled, wrapping an arm desperately around Shadow's neck as he was about to slip off. With his other arm, he kept a firm grip on Ed's unconscious body. Twisting around as far as he dared, he peeked behind them and saw Scar rising from the ground and starting to give chase.

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_Ow, ow, ow, ow. . ._Roy ran frantically, a huge, spiky suit of armor sliding all around as it lay on his back. Running full-speed into Alphonse had perhaps not been _the_ wisest course of action, but he couldn't think of any other way to get the giant boy onto his back. Even now, as Alphonse was starting to get into a more secure position, Roy was slowly strangling from the death-grip the boy had on his neck.

Suddenly, the street started exploding underneath his feet. . .hooves. A strange scream broke from his throat as the horse's instincts took over and he bolted wildly, his ears plastered to his skull.

"AAHHHH!!!" Al screamed again, digging his knees into Roy so he wouldn't fly off. The pain of Al's knee-spikes slicing into him only added to the horse-side-of-Roy's panic. Hooves scrabbling madly on the cobblestones, Roy careened down the street as Scar sent explosion after explosion after them. Shrapnel rained down on them, but Roy ignored the pain.

As the ground exploded in spikes beneath him, Roy suddenly felt a searing agony in his hind leg. It buckled and sent Roy and his riders tumbling forward. Through sheer determination—and a good deal of the horse's panic—Roy scrambled to his feet again and kept running. Scar was getting farther and farther away; they had almost lost him.

The fall had jarred Fullmetal awake, and the boy was now yelling in confusion.

"AH! What the heck?!! Al, what's going—AH!!"

Roy skidded around a corner, coming dangerously close to crashing into a house. Flecks of sweat were streaming off of him, and his breath was coming in great, panting gasps.

After running flat-out for another twenty minutes, Roy's body decided that it had had enough, and he collapsed in the middle of a small, dark alley. Gulping down air, Roy decided that he really didn't care much for the horse's panic instinct.

Alphonse and Edward rolled off of him shakily. Now that the adrenaline was fading, Roy could feel every cut and scrape and abrasion and puncture wound (why, oh why did Alphonse have to have spikes on his knees. . .and elbows. . ._and_ shoulders. . ._and_ feet. . ._and_. . . . .don't think about it.) His whole body was ablaze with pain, especially his hind leg.

"You okay, Al?"

"Yes, I'm fine, how are _you_?"

Ed laughed weakly, "For having a building fall on me, I'm doing really well, actually." He winced, "Other than a few cuts and broken ribs and maybe a concussion. . ." he touched his head gingerly, "I think I'm okay. What happened?"

Al chuckled self-consciously and rubbed the back of his head, "Shadow saved us!"

"Huhn?"

"Scar was about to get me, but suddenly Shadow came up and kicked him away. Then he carried both of us away." As if only then remembering that Roy was there with them, Alphonse turned quickly to him. "Oh yeah, how are you, boy?" He stroked Roy's nose gently. This action somehow drew a small, whimpering noise out of Roy, much to his chagrin.

"Hey," Al turned to his brother, "Shadow's pretty beat up. He's bleeding all over."

"Oh geez, Al, come here."

Al circled around behind Roy and sucked in a breath when he saw the foot-long chunk of wood buried in Roy's flank.

"Oh, poor Shadow!" Al exclaimed as he reached forward, gingerly touching the wood. "It's okay, boy" he said slowly and soothingly, "It'll be okay, let me just get this out. . ."

Roy clenched his teeth as he felt Al wrap his hand around the shaft. With an explosion of excruciating pain, Al ripped the spike out of him. Try as he might, Roy could not hold back a scream.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay. . ." Al was stroking him, trying to calm him down. Roy's whole body was shivering from pain and exhaustion. What had possessed him to follow these two in the first place, a part of his brain wondered. Then again, argued another part, if he _hadn't_ come, then both Elrics would most likely be dead right now.

"Where are we, anyway?" Ed looked around.

"I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention. But we need to get you to a hospital, and Shadow to. . .to a vet or something." Alphonse was still stroking him, one hand on his nose, the other running down his neck.

"FOUND YOU!!" (1)

All three of them screamed and whirled around at the sudden voice above them. Standing on the roof above them was that boy from Xing, grinning triumphantly. What was his name? Roy racked his brain. Lin. That was it.

Lin jumped nimbly down into the alley beside them and was followed by his bodyguard Lanfan. "We've been looking all over the city for you!" He slapped Ed affectionately on the back. The other boy just gaped at him, jaw hanging.

"You. . .you. . .!" Ed waved a finger in Lin's direction, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!" he finally managed to blurt out.

Lin put on a hurt look, "Well, that nice lady Lt. Hawkeye figured that you'd run away from your bodyguards, so she asked us to keep an eye on you."

"Since when have YOU ever done what the military told you?!"

"Since they started feeding me!" Lin grinned broadly and held up two fingers in a peace sign.

More gaping.

"Unbelievable." Ed threw up his hands in defeat. Then immediately winced and clutched his chest.

"You're hurt?" Lin stepped forward, his brow furrowing ever so slightly.

"Nah, it's nothing much." Ed grimaced, trying to grind out a nonchalant smile and failing miserably. "But hey, um, are you any good with horses? This one's in pretty bad shape."

Lin walked over to examine Roy and suddenly frowned. "This. . .is your horse?" He asked slowly.

Ed cocked his head, "Er, yeah, kinda. I guess. Why?"

"Not much. It's just. . .something feels strange about this horse." Lin shrugged, "Anyway, there's not much I can do, only numb the pain a bit." He produced a small jar from out of nowhere and, dipping two fingers in, rubbed a strange-smelling paste over the wound on Roy's flank. Immediately a cool sensation spread across his skin and the pain subsided to a dull ache. With a grunt, Roy heaved himself to his feet.

"I'll call a vet for Shadow once we get you to the hospital," Al said as he picked up his injured brother.

"Yeah. . ." Ed was starting to feel light-headed from the blood-loss and the more-than-likely concussion.

Together, the group headed for Central's hospital. Roy limped along behind, not knowing what to make of the odd glances that Lin and Lanfan kept tossing his way.

Finally, hours later, when the sky was just beginning to lighten with hints of the sun, Roy was back in the stable where he started—in a different stall, of course, as his was properly smashed. He had surprisingly few bandages for the number of injuries he had. Most of the smaller cuts had just been given a dab of salve and left alone. Only the wound on his leg had needed major attention, and the vet had spent a long time stitching it up and bandaging it.

With an exhausted sigh, Roy knelt down in the straw and immediately fell asleep, trying not to think about the total mess he was in.

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Author's Notes: (1.) If I was REALLY mean I would have just ended the chapter there. Heh heh heh. Fortunately for you all, I'm not the type of writer who's really into cliffhangers. I'm hoping that people will like the story enough in its own right that they will come back even if there isn't a cliffhanger. (wonders idly if her hope is completely unfounded). . .

Also, I know that timeline-wise this story doesn't exactly work 'cause by the time Roy meets Lin, Havoc's already paralyzed. --crawls into a corner and sobs for a while-- But I just love Havoc too much to not have him in the story. Please forgive the slight inconsistency. –bows--

(By the way, what IS Lin's name?! I've seen it as Lin, Rin, and Ling.)


	5. Chapter 5

Unofficial Author's Note: Aaauuugh! I just read vol. 13 of the manga! There was a preview for 14 and. . .and someone PLEASE tell me that Lin(g) doesn't become a homunculus or something! Aaaugh!

Official Author's Note: Ah! 40 reviews! Over half way to my goal of 76! BOHAHAHAHA! Thank you so much to everyone who left a review! It means so much!

_Oh, and everyone has been telling me that Lin's name is actually Ling, but since I've already been calling him Lin I decided to just stick with that. Hope that doesn't upset anyone. . ._

_Okay, people, I've been saying all along that I really need ideas for this story, and please trust me when I say that I'M NOT LYING! My Chocolate-Milk-Glass of Ideas is now officially purty durn dry. I really need help in figuring out what should happen next (thanks to Bar-Ohki for tossing ideas around with me so far.) So if you people are at all interested in this story and would like to see it continue, either give me ideas or pray like heck that my inspiration breaks out of prison and strikes me again!_

_Disclaimer: I tried to get my insurance to pay for all the things that my inspiration stole when it struck and mugged me, but then I remembered that I don't HAVE insurance. Crap. Still own nothing._

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"Careful, boy. Don't strain yourself."

Roy merely snorted as Alphonse led him slowly down the street. It had been several days since their encounter with Scar and Roy had healed enough to go limping along after Al when the large boy took him out occasionally for exercise. It had been a week since he had first disappeared.

A week. . .he groaned inwardly. The theory that he had been killed by Scar was rapidly gaining popularity among the population at large. Of course, Hawkeye and the rest of them—Havoc, Fuery, Falman, Breda,. . .even Armstrong—refused to believe it, but. . .he sighed and looked at the ground. Hawkeye was becoming more and more withdrawn and cold. Her eyes were still steely with determination, but when she had come secretly to his stable to talk to him (she always did have a soft spot for animals, he mused) he had seen despair lurking deep in her golden eyes. He wanted to both comfort her and slap her to her senses at the same time. Most of all he wanted to kill whoever did this.

Fortunately, while he had been recovering, he had been sort of unofficially adopted into the group like Black Hayate had been, and no one minded when he followed them around everywhere.

Speaking of Black Hayate. . .he glanced over his shoulder and saw the small puppy bounding happily by his side. The dog had taken a particular liking to Roy and whenever Riza left it would run out and trail around after Roy. When Hayate had first seen Roy in his horse form, he had run back and forth between Roy and Riza, barking excitedly. Everyone else (especially Breda) just thought the dog had been possessed, but now that he thought about it, Roy wouldn't have been surprised if Hayate had recognized him somehow. That dog was uncannily perceptive at times.

But still. . .he sighed again. A week in this miserable body and they STILL were no closer to figuring who did it or how it was done. Actually, he still wasn't any closer to showing the others that it HAD been done. He had experimented for a while with trying to use his hooves to scratch out a message in the dirt, but as they could go only go back and forth, the best he had been able to manage was a line. Next he had tried using his teeth, but had even less success in that department. Horses in general are not particularly well-designed for writing.

"Ah! Brother! Lieutenant!"

Roy looked up and saw Fullmetal and Hawkeye, along with Havoc, Falman, and, oddly, Lin and his bodyguard. They had been huddled together, discussing something seriously. Al noticed the concern in their expressions as well.

"What's wrong?" He asked, jogging up with Black Hayate at his heels.

"Scar took out another State Alchemist last night." Ed scowled.

Alphonse's shoulders sagged. "And still no sign of the Colonel?" Roy couldn't help snorting and shoving his head forcefully into the circle at this, but was completely ignored except for Riza absently reaching over to stroke his nose.

Ed slammed a fist into his palm, "We have to go after Scar again. He needs to be stopped and right now he's our only lead to the Colonel."

No! No, you idiots! Scar had nothing to do with it! He wouldn't have turned me into a horse! All that maniac can do is BLOW THINGS UP! Leave him for the rest of the military! Augh!!

"Whoa, what's gotten into Shadow?" Edward edged away from the raving horse.

"I bet he just wants to stop Scar too, don'cha boy?" Al scratched his neck affectionately.

Roy gave up.

"Well," Ed turned back to the group, "The most effective way we've found of luring him out is by using Al and me as bait. It's worked before and--"

"Out of the question." Hawkeye immediately cut him off. "It's too dangerous. You almost died last time."

"Yeah, well we wouldn't be going alone this time!" Ed protested. "Slanty-eyes here hasn't let us out of his sight since that night anyway."

"Well we can't have anything happen to you!" Lin grinned, "If you died, then they'd stop giving me free food!"

"But brother has a point." Alphonse broke in, "If we go out as bait, but have all of you lying in wait for him, then we wouldn't be in _that_ much danger!"

Hawkeye looked like she was about to disagree again, but Ed cut in, "It's the only way to find out what's happened to the Colonel."

She faltered.

"All right." She finally said, straightening up and looking hard at the young alchemist, "But once Scar appears, you are to retreat immediately and let us deal with him, understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" Ed grinned, snapping off a salute. Hawkeye sighed and rubbed her temples.

"All right, how are we going to do this. . ."

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They had decided to set the trap in an abandoned, derelict section of the city so that no innocent civilians would get caught up in the fight. An additional bonus was that if they accidentally destroyed a building or ten they would only be saving a demolition crew work later on.

Hawkeye, Lin, Lanfan, and Havoc were all tucked away out of sight in some of the crumbling buildings while Ed and Al just stood in the middle of the street, looking awkward. They hadn't wanted to let Roy come along, but he put up such a struggle at being left behind that they were forced to allow him to come. He was hidden in a nice little niche where a wall had collapsed and created a convenient little shelter that allowed him to see basically what was going on, yet kept him concealed.

As the minutes ticked by, he began wondering again just HOW they expected Scar to randomly show up. Apparently, Edward was thinking the same thing. And, while Roy had to admit the boy had a _few_ qualities, patience was definitely not one of them.

With an annoyed grunt, Ed slapped his hands together and slammed them into the ground. Immediately pavement and concrete and cobblestones shot into the air like a tower and, once they had cleared the roofs of the surrounding buildings, formed themselves into words.

"SCAR! WE ARE HERE!" Was the message of the giant sign, accompanied by a large, blinking, neon arrow pointing down at Ed and Al.

_Nothing__ if not subtle._ Roy stared incredulously up at the towering sign. The Elrics certainly had a unique way of approaching situations. Unique in that no one else could _possibly_ be stupid enough to do what they did. But still, if that didn't get Scar over here, he didn't know what would.

"Um, won't he think it's a trap, big brother?" Al's voice bounced back and forth among the buildings, making it easy for Roy to hear even though he was far away.

"Of _course_ he'll know it's a trap. But he'll come anyway." Ed stated with conviction.

And, sure enough, only forty minutes passed before the Ishbalan appeared.

"Ha!" Ed scrambled up, grinning victoriously, "Got you!"

Before Scar even had a chance to reply, both Ed and Al were charging towards him.

What are those idiots _doing_?! Roy craned his neck to see. The moment Scar appeared, they were supposed to fall back! He heard a distinct curse coming from Hawkeye's general direction.

Just as Scar and the Elrics reached each other, Lin and Lanfan exploded out from their hiding places and joined the fray. Roy allowed himself a savage grin when he saw Scar's surprise. Four against one, with both Havoc and Hawkeye still hidden with sniper rifles. . .Roy chuckled. This guy was toast.

Knowing what a huge disadvantage he was at, Scar suddenly detached himself from the fight and darted into a nearby building.

_Oh crap._

That was the building both Hawkeye and Havoc were in. Roy scrambled out of his hiding place and ran towards the building just as the other four sped in after Scar.

By the time Roy had gotten in, the various thumps and explosions of a fight were coming from one of the higher floors. Suddenly the sound of gunshots was added to the general din. Roy swore as he struggled up the stairs. In these cramped quarters, Scar would have the advantage.

The stairs were giving him considerable trouble, but he managed them eventually. When he finally stuck his head into the room where the others were, the sounds had abruptly stopped.

Scar was slumped in a corner with Ed and Lin holding swords to his neck, Lanfan pressing a kunai into his side, and both Havoc and Riza aiming guns at his head. Alphonse was standing off to the side, holding up his hands and looking a bit overwhelmed.

Roy sighed in relief. See? No problem. Six on one. Why had he been worried? The building shuddered and plaster and dust rained down on him. Oh. That was why.

"Got you!" Ed hissed, pressing his blade harder into Scar's throat, "Now. Tell us what you did to Colonel Mustang."

_No, no you fools._ Roy looked around worriedly at the unstable structure they were all standing in, _Knock him out and question him at military H.Q.! (Not that questioning him will do much good anyway.) But don't stay HERE!_

"The Flame Alchemist?" Scar's brow furrowed slightly, "I have not seen him since I came back to Central, though I have been searching."

"You mean. . ." Ed paused, "You mean you didn't kill him?"

_Of course he didn't, you pipsqueak idiot!!!_ Roy bellowed. Even now, he was still surprised when Fullmetal didn't even flinch when called a pipsqueak.

"No, but it was not through lack of effort." Everyone was so focused on this new information that Roy was the only one who saw the tiny, red spark leap from Scar's hand, which was pressed against the wall.

_LOOK OUT!_ Roy yelled and charged forward just as the wall exploded and three stories of already-crumbling masonry collapsed on them.

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A/N: Eh-heh. . .and here I just said that I wasn't the type of author who was really into cliffhangers. –sweatdrop-- I didn't mean to do it, honestly. That was just the most convenient ending point. Anyway! Please, please leave reviews! Even if you didn't like it, please tell me why!

_By the way, would SOMEone please explain to me why the Royai pairing is called Royai?_


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hello! Despite what you may have believed, this story isn't ENTIRELY dead yet! (Though it may become so soon without your help.) I still can't really think of a way for Riza to go about her investigation so I decided on going down some random sidetrack! Woohoo! As always, please PLEEEASE review! Especially if you're a new reader—I'd love to hear from you! Drop me a line to let me know you exist! (And I am now officially in mourning for Lin. . .someone please tell me he gets un-Greed-i-fied sometime??)

_Disclaimer: Well, apparently my inspiration DID break out of jail, hitch a ride on vol. 14, and strike me again. It was rather upset to realize that I still don't own anything except for my cat. . .oh, and a nice, swelling lump on the top of my head now. . ._

_Since it's been so long since the last chappie, I'll add a_

Previously:

"Roy was the only one who saw the tiny, red spark leap from Scar's hand, which was pressed against the wall.

_LOOK OUT!_ Roy yelled and charged forward just as the wall exploded and three stories of already-crumbling masonry collapsed on them."

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"Wow, heh heh. . .that was close."

Once his heart rate returned to normal, Roy took a moment to thank heaven for Alphonse Elric. Apparently Roy hadn't been the only one to see the warning spark of red that flashed from Scar's hand. The moment before tons of rubble had come crashing down, Al had slapped his hands together and encompassed the entire group in a dome of solid rock.

"Is everyone okay?" Alphonse asked, his voice echoing in the complete darkness. There were various murmurs of "Yeah," and "I'm fine." Roy, for his part, whinnied. Then there was a horrendous scraping noise followed by an impressively long string of curses.

"Brother. . .? Is that you? What's wrong?"

"Every time we fight Scar, man, _every _time!"

"What happened?" Alphonse asked, fear rising in his voice.

"My leg's been pretty well destroyed. Man. . .Winry's gonna kill me," Ed grumbled.

Al sighed audibly in relief. "You should be grateful it was only your automail, big brother!" he said reproachfully. "Besides, we'll be going back to Resembool soon, so Winry can fix it then. Right now let's just get out of here."

Once the building had completely finished collapsing and had settled on top of their protective bubble, Ed and Al created a tunnel leading up, out of the rubble.

"He got away." Ed punched a chunk of concrete once everyone was back out in the open air. It had taken a considerable amount of work to get Roy up through the tunnel, but after a few good shoves and a rather creative use of rope, they had gotten him out too.

"Yes, but at least we learned that he didn't kill the Colonel." Alphonse pointed out.

"How do you know he was telling the truth?" For just having a building fall on him, the Xingian boy was remarkably unruffled. He was just standing there, nonchalantly dusting himself off as if nothing had happened.

"He'd have no reason to lie." Ed grunted, "In fact, he'd probably be gloating about it if he did."

"Edward is right. Our best assumption now is that the Colonel is alive, but probably being held captive somewhere." Hawkeye spoke in her normal, business like tone, but Roy could see relief shining in her eyes.

_No,_ Roy sighed in resignation, _No, I'm right here, but of course you'll never realize it and I shall probably spend the rest of my days with four legs and a craving for oats._ Roy realized dimly that he had gotten into the habit of talking to himself. He wondered if this was a sign of mental deterioration.

"Well, there's nothing more we can do tonight." Havoc stretched, "Let's go home and get some rest."

"Yeah. . ."

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"Good morning, Shadow!"

Roy snapped his head up and blinked blearily at the overly-cheerful metal boy in front of him. What was Alphonse doing here so early in the morning?

"I've got good news, boy!"

_And I am so terribly happy for you_. Roy mumbled, his eyes drifting closed again. It was too early for any sane creature to be conscious.

"Remember Winry and Granny Pinako?" Al had come into his stall and was trying to coax him into a halter, "We're going down there for Winry's birthday! Well. . .that and to get Ed's leg fixed, so you'll to get to see them again! I'm sure that they'll be glad to see you again."

_Yes, I'm sure, but if you don't mind I think I'll stay here and try to help the Lieutenant find me._ He was still not fully awake and was making half-hearted attempts to dodge the rope Alphonse kept trying to slip over his face. He failed.

_Mmfn._

A week ago, he probably would have put up much more of a struggle, but he had gradually grown accustomed to the various indignities that came with being a horse. Such as the rope around his face. Besides, his head drooped, it really _was_ too early to be expending any unnecessary energy. The sun hadn't even risen yet and the morning was gray and chilly.

When they arrived at the train station, Roy saw Edward leaning on a crutch waiting for them. As they approached, however, he became aware of a faint snoring noise coming from the young alchemist.

"Brother!"

"Guwha-? Huh?"

Roy sniggered as Edward snapped awake.

"You were sleeping on your feet, Brother." Al chuckled.

"Yeah, well, why'd we have to catch such an early train anyway?. . .and why the heck are we bringing the horse with us?!" He added, catching sight of Roy.

"Because he misses Winry and Granny! And I'm sure they want to know how he's doing." Al stated firmly. Roy let out a great sigh.

They waited in silence for a while in the pre-dawn gloom, both Roy and Ed looking like they'd like nothing better than to crawl back into bed for another five hours or so. Finally Edward straightened somewhat.

"I know it's Winry's birthday and all. . .but I just don't feel comfortable leaving when the Colonel's still missing." He chewed his lip in irritation.

"But brother, Lt. Hawkeye is gathering information right now. There's nothing we can do until they find a lead. Besides, there's nothing you can do until you get a new leg."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just. . .hate feeling so useless, y'know?" He tilted his head up to the slate gray sky, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"Yeah, I know." Al said quietly, "But come on—the train's here."

The hazy shape of the train slowly pulled in through the mist. They were just preparing to board when a loud voice called out just behind them.

"Edward! Alphonse!"

Both boys stiffened at the enthusiastic baritone. Roy sweatdropped.

Edward plastered a strained smile on his face. "Major Armstrong!" he called without even turning around. "What are you doing here?" He spun slowly to face the towering officer, trying his best to ignore the sparkles.

"You are well aware that Scar is still at large! It is much too dangerous for children like yourselves to be wandering around alone, especially in your condition!"

"Yes, but. . .HOW DID YOU EVEN KNOW WE WERE LEAVING?!!" Fullmetal still had that forced smile, but his eyebrow was twitching.

"Ah! That nice boy from Xing told us. He was about to follow you, but I, Alex Lois Armstrong volunteered to go in his stead!" There was a veritable shower of sparkles at this point, "Besides, it would be a pleasure to see the Rockbells again. They are such a nice family, and to take you in as their own. . .!!" Tears shone in the large man's eyes. The sweatdrops that had formed on the backs of both the Elrics' and Roy's heads quickly disappeared as the two brothers dove for the security of the train as Armstrong attempted to engulf them in a bear hug.

"How did we get saddled with _him_ again?" Ed whispered urgently as he tried to scramble over Al into the relative safety of the train car.

"Ah, is this your horse?" Armstrong exclaimed enthusiastically, whacking Roy on the back hard enough to make his knees buckle. "A fine animal! No, no, don't worry, I'll take care of him for you! You two just stay there and I shall return in a moment!" He deftly swiped the halter from Al's startled hands and proceeded to drag a wobbly-legged Roy to the livestock compartment.

"Well. . .this should make the trip more exciting, at least!" Al said, trying his best to see the silver lining around the very, very large, sparkly cloud. Ed looked forlornly at the mangled remains of his leg.

"Why does she have to make it so complicated?" he complained to no one. "It would be so much easier if I could just use alchemy to fix it."

"Oh, stop whining, Brother. It'll be good to see them again. What did you get Winry for her birthday anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Ed dug around in his suitcase, then pulled out an exquisitely complicated mechanism. Al stared for a bit.

". . .You bought her an automail arm?" he asked incredulously. "You do realize she MAKES automail arms, don't you?"

"Hey! You saw how starry her eyes got when she saw this in Rush City!" Ed said defensively. "What did you get her anyway?"

Al reached into his armor and brought out what appeared to be a thick scroll of something. When he unrolled it, Ed whistled.

"Ooooh. . .Wrench Variety Pack. How many are in there?"

"Twenty-three!" Al said happily. Ed inspected the largest one, which was easily over two feet long.

"Al. . ." he started. "_Why_ are you giving her a weapon this big?"

"Oh don't worry, Brother." Al waved a hand at him. "When she finds out how you demolished your leg, she'll only hit you once or twice. . .three times at most. You're skull's thick enough to handle that!" Ed would have attacked his younger brother then, had the Major not chosen that precise moment to appear.

"Oh, what brotherly love!" he exclaimed, inserting himself next to Ed, so that the smaller boy was smashed up against the window like a sardine.

"Hello, Major," he squeaked.

"Did Shadow give you any trouble?" Al inquired politely.

"Oh, no! Splendid creature! Very obedient." Armstrong laughed, then paused. "He _did_ fall asleep halfway to his compartment. Though when I attempted to pick him up and carry him the rest of the way, he seemed to wake up. Never seen an animal move so fast in my life!" For the first time, Ed felt a strong well of sympathy and kinship with the horse. It was the sort of fellowship that comes from the shared experience of Major Armstrong. For the Major _was_ an Experience. . .and not necessarily a good one.

"Why, he reminds me of a horse my family used to have when I was young. . ." continued the Major, oblivious to the look of resigned desperation that had settled on Ed's face.

This was going to be a long, _long_ trip.

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_Author's Note: Can anyone tell me how to make a proper line in this format?! 'Cause I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting sick of the oOoOoOo's. . ._


End file.
